Marine parachutists deliver gear

Monday

May 28, 2007 at 12:01 AM

By Chrissy Vick, The Daily News of Jacksonville

Jacksonville | Lance Cpl. Stephen Dolby has made more than 50 jumps as a parachute rigger.And he still gets nervous."It's natural to be nervous," he said. "You just can't let it affect you."As Dolby and other Marines of 2nd Air Delivery Platoon hooked up to a static line to jump out of a C-17 on May 18, the anticipation was intense.But once the Leathernecks were soaring through the air, they said it was a real rush.Dolby's specialty is ensuring his team's parachutes are packed correctly. But there's much more to his mission than an adrenaline rush.The 30-man platoon practiced Marine and equipment drops in coordination with airmen from Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina. From a C-17 Globemaster out of Charleston, Marines jumped and later dropped more than 11,000 pounds of cargo into Camp Lejeune. The platoon can deliver a load of up to 42,000 pounds - that's about the size of a tank - to include boats, vehicles and supplies. They specialize in rapid response delivery during combat or humanitarian relief efforts.Part of 2nd AD's platoon is currently deployed to Iraq, where they regularly drop food, ammunition and medical supplies into the fight."This is very important, especially with the war in Iraq," said Sgt. Brian Trafton, jump master with 2nd AD. "We have this capability and it's underutilized."Marine units and commanders often aren't aware of what 2nd AD can do, he said.Cpl. Derrick Thompson, who has done one tour in Iraq, said the job is vital to certain missions so Marines can avoid entering a combat situation using vehicles on the ground.That can save lives."We can drop anything from a load of batteries to Humvees," Thompson said. "This training is important because the more that you do it here, the more you'll be proficient in it when you go to Iraq. You begin to learn every job involved in the effort."The Marines spent hours coordinating and planning for the single air delivery operation early on the morning of May 18. They meticulously checked each person's equipment and every heavy platform to ensure safe travel, following the unit's motto: "I will be sure always.""It is somewhat dangerous because a lot of things could go wrong," Thompson said. "But usually if someone gets hurt it's on the landing and it's minor like a twisted ankle."Dolby said the operations take a huge amount of trust in one another. "Everybody's life is in each other's hands," he said. "You always put that trust in each other. There's a deep camaraderie there."And Thompson says the "rigger community" is relatively small."I love the feeling of jumping and the sense of pride among the rigger community because there are not a lot of us," he said.During Thompson's deployment with 2nd AD to Iraq, the platoon dropped half a million pounds of supplies. On May 18, platforms carried simulated weapons, a water trailer, and food and medical supplies.Their aim was nothing but accurate. "We can put that load 90 percent of the time within 200 feet of the target," Trafton said. "There's a lot of science behind it."

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